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Martha ARGERICH was born in Buenos Aires (Argentina). She began her first piano lessons at the age of five with Vincenzo Scaramuzza. Considered a child prodigy, she soon performs in public. In 1955, she moved to Europe and continued her studies in London, Vienna and in Switzerland with Seidlhofer, Gulda, Magaloff, Mrs Lipatti and Stefan Askenase. In 1957, she won the Bolzano and Geneva Piano ... Read more in Amazon's Martha Argerich Store

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

The most important work on this disc is the Liszt Piano Sonata in B minor. This work, composed in 1853, stands as one of the greatest piano works of all time. Its challenging technical demands and considerable involvement required from the soloist make it a key work in the establishment of any virtuoso pianist. All the greats, from Richter and Rubinstein to Ashkenazy and de Larrocha, have played and recorded it in their careers.

Martha Argerich, perhaps the greatest pianist of our time, is perfectly at home in this piece. Her playing "speaks" of an artist who is capable of exploring the full range of emotions on the keyboard. Unlike other contemporaries, such as Bolet and de Larrocha, as eminent as they are, Argerich establishes herself on an echelon higher, achieving a fluid and perfectly creative touch, that is never stilted or mechanical. Many artists have been overtly aggressive in the final four minutes, but Argerich modulates tone, tempo and pitch with a flair all of her own. The work beautifully enjambs from one movement to another under her command. This remains the most convincing account of Liszt's masterpiece that I have yet heard.

The other works here come from 1961, Argerich's debut recital, hence the title. There are some very charming works that supplement the Sonata well. The Brahms Rhapsodies (Nos. 1 and 2) are attractive and Argerich, ever the full-blooded performer, attacks the Prokofiev Toccata, an offbeat and almost deranged piece, with supreme vitality. Her chromatics would inspire any student of the piano! The piano arrangement of Ravel's Jeux d'eau is also given a dreamy quality in Argerich's hands. The two Chopin pieces are excellent too, but perhaps the next best thing to the Liszt feature is the Hungarian Rhapsody No. 6, by the same composer.Read more ›

I have just noticed three reviews and not one gives this legendary recital, paired as it is with Argerich's barnstorming account of the Liszt Sonata, a five-star rating.

SACRILEGE!

This debut recital epitomises the legend that is Martha Argerich, containing music-making of such poetry and finesse alongside the now predictable witchcraft. If the Chopin scherzo isn't quite as demented as her Concertgebouw performance (EMI) I say that's all to the good, but take any old master you like, they won't surpass the magic of Argerich's Barcarole - my favourite Chopin moment. It's just too bad that there isn't more Brahms in her discography because the Rhapsodies Op.79 couldn't ask for a finer interpreter, such depth of feeling. For fun there is the virtuosity of the Toccata and Hungarian Rhapsody, but last on the bill, the main event

Liszt: Piano Sonata in B Minor (tracks 8-18)

thought by many to be Argerich's finest hour in the studio. Dazzling from first note to last. Not even Brahms would have nodded off during this performance. I keep it alongside Pollini's godlike traversal and that, as they say, is that for Liszt's magnum opus.

Anything less than five stars simply will not do, and not to own this CD means your music collection has fallen short of greatness. Definitive performances throughout.

As is customary with Argerich the spotlight is on her and the composer comes a poor second. No one could deny her skill and her ability to hammer out the notes at great speed but nearly all poetry and musicality are lost in the process. If you like firework displays then maybe she is the pianist for you but not if it is the music itself that you value.